Carlsbad organization seeking musical communities

CARLSBAD -- A Carlsbad-based organization is in search of the
100 best communities in the nation when it comes to giving their
children an education in music.

Joe Lamond, executive director of the nonprofit American Music
Conference, said the goal of a survey now under way is to find
school districts in communities which can be used as examples to
others.

The survey, results from which are expected in May, is meant "to
discover what good music education is all about and learn from
those who excel," Lamond said.

The conference was founded in 1947 to advocate for music
education and is the nonprofit arm of the music industry
organization, NAMM-International Music Products Association.

The association also operates the Museum of Making Music in
Carlsbad.

"Our concern is making sure all children have access to music
education, instead of just an elite few," said Connie Tejeda, a
spokeswoman for the American Music Conference.

Tejeda said this is the second year of the survey. About 4,000
nominations were received last year.

Topping the list of 100 last year were the Coppell Independent
School District in Coppell, Texas, and the Farmington Public School
District of Farmington, Mich.

Those were "America's leading communities when it comes to
giving kids the gift of music making," Lamond said.

"We learned a great deal about what makes a great music program
and have shared that information with thousands of school
districts," he said.

"We hope to see the bar raised even higher, and all music
programs benefit from this (survey)," Lamond said.

Tejeda said each of those making the list last year showed
strong community support for music education, "which is key."

Every single one of them had K-12 (kindergarten through high
school) music education programs.

"It's not about who has the best band program," she said. "It's
which communities overall had the best music education
programs."

Significantly, said Tejeda, only two school districts in
California last year made the top 100 list, neither in San Diego
County.

For more than a decade, school districts across the state,
hammered both by lack of funds and a "back to basics" in education
movement, cut or eliminated programs viewed by some as frills --
music, art, dance.

"That's a story in itself," Tejeda said. "One of the biggest
reasons (for the survey) is to keep music education programs alive
in schools.

"There have been a lot of cuts, and we thought what better way
to show communities that are suffering what good communities look
like."

Tejeda said organizations supporting this year's survey include
the Music Teachers National Association and the National School
Boards Association.